Eminem, who was born 2-1/2 years after the Beatles broke up, is the only artist who has sold more albums in this decade than the fabled foursome. Eminem’s new album Relapse sold 608,000 copies this week, lengthening his lead as the artist who has sold the most albums in the 2000s. The rap superstar has sold 31,127,000 albums since the first week of January 2000. In second place: The Beatles, who have sold 27,591,000 albums in the same period. (That’s not bad for a group that broke up in 1970.) The Beatles have done better in this decade relative to the competition than they did in the ‘90s, when they were the #5 album-selling act..

Only four of the top 20 album sellers of the 1990s also rank among the top 20 album sellers so far in the 2000s. The Fab Four is joined by Metallica, Alan Jackson and Celine Dion. Nielsen/SoundScan, which has tracked sales for Billboard since 1991, doesn’t carry a list of the top album sellers of the 2000s on its site. But the information is all there, if you know where to look (and can do simple subtraction).

1. Eminem, 31,127,000. First charted: 1999. Eminem, 36, is the top male artist and the top rap artist so far in this decade. His 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP is his best-seller. It has sold 10,178,000 copies.

Notibles:

7. Nelly, 21,206,000. First charted: 2000. Nelly, 34, is the #1 new artist to emerge in this decade, edging out Linkin Park. He’s also the #1 African American artist, edging out Jay-Z, and the #2 rap artist. Nelly’s 2000 debut, Country Grammar, is his best-selling album. It has sold 8,454,000 copies.
(EVEN with the failure of his last albu, Brass Knuckel)

10. Jay-Z, 19,379,000. First charted: 1996. Jay-Z, 39, is the #3 rap artist of the decade. 2003′s The Black Album is his best-selling album of this decade. It has sold 3,338,000 copies. Jay-Z was the #152 album-selling act of the ‘90s.